Welcome to Bimmerfest -- The #1 Online Community for BMW related information! Please enjoy the discussion forums below and share your experiences with the 200,000 current, new and past BMW owners. The forums are broken out by car model and into other special interest sections such as BMW European Delivery and a special forum to voice your questions to the many BMW dealers on the site to assist our members!

E36 (1991 - 1999) The E36 chassis 3-Series BMW was a huge hit among driving enthusiasts from the first moment the car hit the pavement. The E36 won numerous awards over the years it was produced and is still a favorite of many BMW enthusiasts to this day! -- View the E36 Wiki

Ugh, some annoying realizations today. Went to put in the front struts, and the 96+ strut hats add too much caster, so the non-M control arms don't match up. Alright, I'll just get 95 M3 strut mounts. Nope, also different control arms. OK, I'll just put some non-M strut hats onto the struts and use my existing control arms. Nope, springs are different. Ok, I'll just get some non-M springs and sell the M3 ones. Nope, spring perch on the struts is a different diameter.

Dammit BMW. I don't understand why they couldn't make a single diameter spring for the E36 chassis.

Now I'm looking at buying 96+ M3 control arms or swapping the strut inserts into non-m bodies and getting non-m springs. My control arms are brand new Lemforders. Would hate to give those up. But it seems easier than swapping everything else.

Ugh, some annoying realizations today. Went to put in the front struts, and the 96+ strut hats add too much caster, so the non-M control arms don't match up. Alright, I'll just get 95 M3 strut mounts. Nope, also different control arms. OK, I'll just put some non-M strut hats onto the struts and use my existing control arms. Nope, springs are different. Ok, I'll just get some non-M springs and sell the M3 ones. Nope, spring perch on the struts is a different diameter.

Dammit BMW. I don't understand why they couldn't make a single diameter spring for the E36 chassis.

Now I'm looking at buying 96+ M3 control arms or swapping the strut inserts into non-m bodies and getting non-m springs. My control arms are brand new Lemforders. Would hate to give those up. But it seems easier than swapping everything else.

Yeah, I really love using my gasless HF welder. Can't do anything crazy with it, but I've welded some tricycle frames and they've held up fine.

Aluminum is a really great heat conductor (as you now know first hand) and that makes it very challenging to gas weld. Very hard to get the concentrated heat with a torch. Challenge number two is that aluminum oxidizes instantly when exposed to oxygen The alumiweld rods have a chemical coating that supposedly generates a non-oxidizing gas blanket at the weld point but it's so thin that it's not very effective. Just the convection from the heat of welding can carry it away. You can try ghetto heliarc with your HF welder. You need a tank of balloon helium and a nozzle. You aim a flow of helium across the arc from your HF welder and it's a form of heliarc welding. It's not very efficient but for a one time repair it might do the job.....

Aluminum is a really great heat conductor (as you now know first hand) and that makes it very challenging to gas weld. Very hard to get the concentrated heat with a torch. Challenge number two is that aluminum oxidizes instantly when exposed to oxygen The alumiweld rods have a chemical coating that supposedly generates a non-oxidizing gas blanket at the weld point but it's so thin that it's not very effective. Just the convection from the heat of welding can carry it away. You can try ghetto heliarc with your HF welder. You need a tank of balloon helium and a nozzle. You aim a flow of helium across the arc from your HF welder and it's a form of heliarc welding. It's not very efficient but for a one time repair it might do the job.....

Wow, this sounds really ghetto. Even for me!

That way sounds pretty difficult to be honest. I doubt I have enough skill to make a decent weld that way. I emailed a couple welders on craigslist. Hopefully one of them will do it cheap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drivinfaster

yeah, i tried the alumiweld rods, too....didn't work too well. brazing may have been easier for me to do.

that being said, it's ok for metal filler i would suppose. it does melt and run (sorta) like solder. i still have a bunch left as i only used maybe 3 rods during my initial attempt with them.

if i ever get feelin kinda crazy, i may just put one of them in my arc welder....

instant puddle of metal, anyone??

most vo-tech schools have a welding program and could probably do the repair for cheap or even free (minus materials), so i would check there as well.

df

I'm just not sure how to figure out who to contact at one of those schools?

usually one of the instructors will be able to inform you as to how to go about submitting something like that for studdent repair. a lot of times there are forms to fill out regarding liability and damages and such.

"Burning 2nd is a lot like vitamin tonic. Overly harsh, tastes like crap, but somewhere in all that there's good intent......just have to learn to read between the lines, actually you have to squint really hard to see the good, but its there somewhere"

"Burning 2nd is a lot like vitamin tonic. Overly harsh, tastes like crap, but somewhere in all that there's good intent......just have to learn to read between the lines, actually you have to squint really hard to see the good, but its there somewhere"

Hmm.... Maybe it's because you have offset FCABs? I have centered ones...

Thanks

Yes, it comes down to the FCABs. I first ran offset FCABs on non-M strut mounts & control arms. My wheels were a little bit forward in the wheel well, but not by much - no rubbing at all. When I upgraded my suspension, I switched to '95 M3 upper strut mounts, which then put the wheels exactly where they need to be when used in conjunction with the offset FCABs. If you were to use '96-99 upper strut mounts, you would want centered FCABs, and I believe you would have no trouble using stock non-M control arms.

If you use centered non-M upper strut mounts with centered FCABs and non-M control arms, your geometry will be fine - the same as all non-M cars. You just won't have the extra caster that M-cars do, which isn't a big deal.

Yes, it comes down to the FCABs. I first ran offset FCABs on non-M strut mounts & control arms. My wheels were a little bit forward in the wheel well, but not by much - no rubbing at all. When I upgraded my suspension, I switched to '95 M3 upper strut mounts, which then put the wheels exactly where they need to be when used in conjunction with the offset FCABs. If you were to use '96-99 upper strut mounts, you would want centered FCABs, and I believe you would have no trouble using stock non-M control arms.

If you use centered non-M upper strut mounts with centered FCABs and non-M control arms, your geometry will be fine - the same as all non-M cars. You just won't have the extra caster that M-cars do, which isn't a big deal.

This is not true. That's what I tried, and the balljoint sits very far behind the spindle. That's why the 96+ M3's have different (longer) control arms.

You're right about the rest. I'm not really concerned about the lack of caster. I'd rather have quicker turn-in than high speed stability.

"Burning 2nd is a lot like vitamin tonic. Overly harsh, tastes like crap, but somewhere in all that there's good intent......just have to learn to read between the lines, actually you have to squint really hard to see the good, but its there somewhere"

Ok ... You tend to be talked at little bit more respectfully when your nose isn't pointed at the sky

Keep in mind that other people are on the road as well

So if you choose to be a back yard weekend warrior do that **** somewhere else where people don't have there kids In the car

I just can't get it how this particular section of the fourm is full of dh's grammar nazis and stuck up a holes

It's a fking e36 not a race car

__________________

Specializing In BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz ,Volkswagen, Volvo

"Burning 2nd is a lot like vitamin tonic. Overly harsh, tastes like crap, but somewhere in all that there's good intent......just have to learn to read between the lines, actually you have to squint really hard to see the good, but its there somewhere"

"Burning 2nd is a lot like vitamin tonic. Overly harsh, tastes like crap, but somewhere in all that there's good intent......just have to learn to read between the lines, actually you have to squint really hard to see the good, but its there somewhere"